Waves are a powerful source of solar power. The sun heats the earth causing the air near the ground to heat and rise creating wind. When the wind blows over a body of water the energy of the wind is exchanged to the waves it creates. The power of the waves is concentrated solar power. The power in the waves is both the movement of the waves and the lifting of the water to the crest of the waves.
Wave power plants extract the energy from the waves and convert this energy into useful electric power. The main advantages of extracting energy from waves are: firstly, the energy is solar with no pollution, and secondly, wave power is renewable and is a source of power great enough to power the world. However, the problems encountered by wave power stations are: first, most are costly to build in relation to the amount of electricity extracted, second, most generating devices are complex with numerous moving parts that experience great wear due to the salt and sand in the ocean often causing the cost of repair to exceed the value of the electricity extracted, and third, storms often destroy entire wave generating stations. Thus, There are few wave power generating stations in use today.
Accordingly, to extract electricity in large amounts inexpensively and efficiently, what is needed is a strong system that can withstand storms and be such that the units are less complex with less part replacement and inexpensive to construct.